Door-operating mechanism.



T. R. BROWN. DOOR OiERATING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 17, 1906.nnitnwnn MAR. 12', 1909.

1,002,030. 0 Paiiented Aug-29, 1911.

vBY

rrn erase learnt orun on,

THOMAS R. BROWN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY.MES1\TE ASSIGNMENTS,ECO NATIONAL PNEUMATIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

DOOR-OPERATING MECHANISM,

- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 17, 1906, Serial No. 306,489. Renewed March 12,1909. Serial No. 483,062.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS R. Brown, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inDoor-Operating Mechanisms, of which the'tollowing is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in door-operating mechanisms, andit consists in the novel features, arrangements and combinations ofparts hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

I present my invention herein as applied to a car for opening andclosing the door thereof, and in its preferred embodiment my inventioncomprises means whereby upon the movement of a control-handle to oneposition, compressed air or other motive fluid will be caused to effectthe-unlatching and opening of the door and upon the movement or" saidhandle to another position, the same air, then acting against a sition,I thus utilize the air by which the door is opened for closing the sameand avoid the waste of air which would result if one supply of air fromthe reservoir were employed in opening the door and another supplythereof used for closing the door.

The mechanical devices for carrying my invention into effect may vary inmany respects with the will of the manufacturer and the nature of thecar or other body to be equipped with the same, but a very satisfactoryembodiment of my invention will comprise, a manually operablecontrol-valve to whose casing a pipe from a reservoir for compressed airwill lead, a door-latching device to which a pipe'from said casing willextend and pass thence to one end of a cylinder fastened to and movable.with and utilized for opening the dooi and a second pipe leading fromsaidvalve casing to a second cylinder also fastened to and movable withthe door and utilized for closing the same.

the door latching device and after freeingv the latch from lookingengagement with the door, travel thence to the door-opening cylinder,wherein the air will act to move the cylinder and door to the openposition of the latter. Thereafter upon the movement of thecontrol-valve to another position, the air supply pipe from thereservoir will be cut off and the pipe leading from the valve casing tothe door-closing cylinder will be placed in communication with the pipesystem leading to the said door-opening cylinder, with the result thatthe airin said pipe system and in said opening-cylinder, will expandinto the pipe leading to the doorclosing cylinder and enter saidcylinder, wherein (acting against a resisting surface of larger areathan that against, which the air exerted its force on opening the door),it will operate to reverse the movement of the cylinder and eiiect theclosing of the door, the air in the then connected systems of pipes andcylinders exhausting through a suitable vent upon the doors reaching itsclosed position and the latch then automatically passing into lockingengagement with the closed door.

I have illustrated, in this application, the cylinders within which theair acts to open and close the door as arranged at the upper edge of thelatter, but said cylinders may be disposed at the lower edge of thedoor, if

so desired, or one of said cylinders may be connected with the upperedge of the door and the other to the lower edge of the door.

The invention will be tully understood from the detailed descriptionhereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,in which is represented a side elevation, partly broken away and partlyin sect-ion, of a car equipped with door operating mechanism constructedin accordance with and embodying my invention.

In the drawings, 10 designates a portion of a common car, 11 the doorthereof, 12 the control-valve casing, 13 the supply pipe leading theretofrom a reservoir, not shown, for compressed air, 14: the pipe leadingfrom said casing to the casing 15 for the door latching'devices andextendingthence by means of. a branch pipe 16 to a fixed pipe 17entering the opening-cylinder 18, and 19 a pipe leading from thecontrolvalve casing 12 to a fixed pi e 20 entering the closing-eylidder21, said Xed pipes 17 QOhaying upon their ends Within said cylinderssuitable pistons numbered, respectively, 22, 23 throughwhich the ends ofthe struction, but the ordinary cup-piston will be found to be entirelysatisfactory. The

cylinders 18, 21 are reversely arranged, since -has been used Within thecylinder 18 is to be used for moving the door to its open position andthe cylinder 21 for efi'ecting the closing of'the door; and the saidcylinders are secured together-and to the door by means of brackets; 24and said cylinders and door are suspended by rollers 25 from a rail 26,upon which said rollers may travel during the opening and closing of thedoor. The outer ends of the nod pipes 17, 20 are secured in rigidbrackets 27, While the inner ends of said pipes are secured to thepistons 22, 28 and hold the latter stationary.

The cylinder 18 is smaller in cross-section than'the cylinder 21 andhence after the air the cylinder 18 for opening the door, it may bepermitted to expand. into the cylinder 21, wherein, acting against thegreater area therein, it will effect the closing of the door.

The control-valve Within the casing 12- is operable by means of a handle28, and this valve is a two-Way valve of any suitable character adaptedwhen the handle 28 is in true position to place the supply pipe 13 incommunication with the pipe 14 and the pipe 19 phere and when saidhandle is placed in another enclosing position to out oft the pipe 13and the exhaust to the atmosphere and place the pipes 14, 19 incommunication with each other so that the air in the pipe 14 and itsconnections may expand into the pipe 19 and pass thence into thecylinder 21. 1 do not limitmy invention to any sp ial form of two-wayvalve Within the ca 12, but one example of such valve is illustrated indetail in my application, Serial Number 483,058, filed March 15, 1906for Letters Patent :tor improvements in dooroperating mechanisms.

' Within the casing; 15 for the door latchdcvices is provided a verticalplungervelve 29 from which projects a vertical stem 30 directly belowthe pivoted latch 31. adapted to engage a catch-arm 32 secured to thedoor 11. When the valve 29 is in its lower position the stem-30 permitsthe latch 31 to remain in engagement with the catcharm 32, and saidvalve 29 when in its lower position cuts oil communication from the pipe14 to the pipe 16. 'When airis admitted to-the pipe 14 for opening thedoor it will elevatethe valve 29 and disengage the latch 31 from thecatch-arm 32 and also open the port to the pipe 16, into which the airwill'pass on its way to the opening cylinder 18. The latch 31.willremain in its 16,'fixed pipe 17 and in communication with the atmos-.

elevated position so long as the air pressure remains in the pipe 14,but after the door 11 has been opened and then closed the air in thepipe system is permitted to exhaust and at such time the valve 29 willdescend and the latch 31 automatically. reengage the catch arm 32.

In the operation of my door being in its closed position, thecont-rol-handle 28 will be moved to place the supply pipe 13 incommunication with the door-opening pipe 14 and the pipe 19 incommunication with the atmosphere, and thereupon the compressed air willflow through the pipe 14 to the casing 15, unlatching the door, and thenthrough the pipe iston 22 into the closed end of the cylin er 18,wherein the air acting against the end of said c linder will force thecylinder to carry thed to itsopen position, the closed end of the oor 11invention, the v cylinder 21 reaching a position adjacent to 1 tr episton 23 When'the door attains its open position. During the opening ofthe door with the use of the cylinder 18the air does not'become trappedvWithin the closed end of the cylinder 21 becauseof the fact that whenthe control-handle 2 8 is vmoved to place the pipes 13,- 14 with eachother, the pipe 19 exhausts to the atmosphere at the casing-12. The doorwill be held open so long as permitted to exert its force through thepipe 14 and against the end of the cylinder 18. When it is desired toclose the door 11, the control-handle 28 will he moved to its closedposition and thereby cut oil the supply ppe 13 and the exhaust from thepipe 19 an place the pipes 14, 19 into communication with each other,whereupon the air within the pipes 14, 16, 17 and cylinder 18 20and passthence through the piston 23 into the closed end of the cylinder 21,wherein said air will act to move the cylinder and door back to theirinitial position, closing the door.. its closed position the ventapertures 33 in into communication the air pressure is- Upon the doorsreaching.

will expand into the pipe 19 and fixed pipe the cylinder 21 becomeuncovered and permit the air within the cylinder 21 and connected pipesystems to exhaust into the atmosphere, whereupon the air pressure beingrelieved the valve 29 in the latch casing 15 .will'descend to itsinitial position and perunit the latch '31 to pass into reenga ementwith the catcharm 29, locking the oor in its closed position.

The area upon which the air acts within the cylinder 18 to efiect theopening-of the door is less than the surface area against which it actsWithin the cylinder 21 for the purpose of closing the door, and thus Iam enabled to use the same air ,which effected the opening of the door,for closing the same. 1

The construction hereinbefore described very eiiicient and durable andalso simple in its details and inexpensive of manufacture. What I claimas my invention and. desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is

' 1. In combination, in a. mechanism for moving doors or other devices,an element to be moved, two cylinders of unequal area connected to themovable element for moving the same, one of the cylinders being employedto move said member in one direc tion, and the other for moving itin theop posite direction, stationary piste is in said cylinders, saidpistonshavingp: through, pipes respectively extendini' into saidcylinders and connected to tbaipistons, and in communication with*t'li'e passages therethrough, means for directing compressed air to oneof said pipes and thence to one cylinder, and means for thereafterpermitting the compressed" air to expand into the other of said pipesand thence into the other cylinder, the effective area upon which theair operates in one cylinder being greater than that against which itoperates in the. other cylinder, substantially as set forth.

2. In combination, in a mechanism for moving doors or other devices anelement to be moved, two cylinders of unequal area, connected to themovable element to move the same, one of the cylinders being employed tomove the movable element in one direction and the other for ,moving itin the opposite direction, pistons in said cylinders, means fordirecting air under pressure into one of said cylinders, and means forthereafter permitting the air to expand into the other cylinder wherebythe air is utilized for moving the movable element in one direction andthereafter moving said element in the opposite direction, the areaagainst which the air acts to initially move the movable element beingless than that against which it acts to move said element in theopposite direction, substantially as set forth.

3. In combination,in a mechanism for moving doors or' other devices, anelement to be moved, two reversely arranged cylinders connected with themovable element for "m'ovingsthe same, one of said cylinders being ofgreater-diameter thanthe other, pistons in said cylinders anda-rrangedon about a transverse line with each other, fixed means connected withsaid pistons for holdmg the same stationary and extending in oppositedirections from the respective cylinders, means connected with a sourceof supply of compressed airand leading to the smaller of said cylindersto move the movable element in one direction, means for cutting off theair supply and placing the cylinders into communication with each otherto move said element in the opposite direction, whereby the air used inthe smaller cylinder to move the movable element' into the largercylinder to move said element in the opposite direction.

4. In combination, in a mechanism for moving doors or other devices, anelement to be moved, two cylindersof unequal area connected to saidelement, a stationary pis- I ton arranged in each cylinder, supply pi econnections to said cylinders, a valve mechanism for controlling thesupply of pressure medium to one of said pipe connections, said valvemechanism operating, when actuated, to placelsaid pipe connections intocommunication with each other.

' 5. In combination, in a mechanism for moving doors or other devices,an elementto be moved, two cylinders of unequal area "connected to saidelement, a stationary piston in each cylinder, supply pipe connec- Cnas.O. GILL,

ARTHUR ,MARION.

in one direction is permitted-to expand tions to said cylinders, a valvemechanism

